Audi R8

[KevHw]

Hi guys,

It's been a while since my last project. I've been building on and off, busy with my studying. Since I've started my Easter break, I've decided to start up a build thread for my Audi R8 and hopefully finish it before my break ends in about 2 weeks.

Inspiration:

Top Gear Magazine, March 2009

I really liked the colour and the closest colour match I have is my Zero Paints Yamaha Gauloises Extreme Blue. A beautiful mica blue with a hint of purple.

I love the look of this car but was never comfortable with the front spoiler lip or rather a lack of one. So I took a little inspiration from the GT3 race car and made this.





I also bought the Hobby Design detail-up set which includes PE side vents and brake disks which was what I wanted, but they lack a PE front grill. So I decided to open up the moulded plastic kit part which I shall paint in Alclad chrome.

Original


Cut-out


Drilled out



Planning on using these Trafficstar RTM 20" because they look awesome

Puttied front bumper


Sprayed colour coat (2 mists. Started having spurting problems with my airbrush )



Cleared with Halfords Clear Lacquer

Orange peel


Roof polished with Micromesh 3600 then Tamiya coarse, medium and fine compounds then waxed with Tamiya wax.


Sorry for ugly mug...thought it would show off the shine really well.

A few minor scratches from the Micromesh when seen up close so I'll try and do the rest of the body using only Tamiya compounds & wax. I also have Meguiars Scratch X but am not too sure at which stage I should introduce it. From previous experience it seems slightly finer than the Tamiya coarse compound.

Now I need to figure out how best to assemble the PE vents then start on the interior.

Thanks for your interest.

[BVC500]

Nice work so far, and I like the color. Amazing that you neatly opened up the grill without breaking any of the slats!

[Wolf95]

ya I was curious as to how you opened up that grill so nicely?

[da_ashman]

Nice work on the grill, beautiful colour!

[JDMaholic]

looks good, i really like that blue!!!!!

[das_auto]

Love the car Kev!

That blue is amazing, and you seem to have the polishing covered...
Sweet build....will be fun to see how you progress!

Cheers!

Emil

[KevHw]

Hi guys, thanks for your comments!

BVC500 - If you look closely you might be able to see on the upper left corner of the number plate the white styrene I used to replace a piece that snapped. Not a perfect job unfortunately

Wolf95 - I used a 0.55 & 0.65mm drill bit to open up each hole and then using a new no.11 blade, carved away the excess plastic. The deep holes were hard to move the blade in so I had to thin the part too by shaving off a few mm from the back.

das_auto - Thanks! I think this is my best paintjob to date. I never laid down enough clear coats before so I'd always get frustrated burning through my paint layer when polishing.


I've finished polishing the whole body now and am just trying to piece together the grills....an absolute nightmare! Also preparing the body for Alclad as I can't find any BMF anywhere so I'm a bit nervous about that. Pictures up soon. Thanks again.

[das_auto]

A small tip for you Kev!

If you´re going to use Alclad to make the silver boards on the sides, be careful and try to remove the wax from those areas. If you apply Alclad (which is a lacquer) onto a waxed surface you run a very high risk of getting a phenomenon called "fisheyes" the paint will pool, almost like water on a waxed car. Removing the wax will also make the paint adhere better and minimize the risk of pulling up the paint when removing the masking.

Try to scrub the wax from the areas to be painted Alclad with an old t-shirt or similar rag and some dishwashing liquid and water. Hopefully that will help you from getting into trouble.

Cheers!

Emil

[MidMazar]

Originally Posted by KevHw

I never laid down enough clear coats before so I'd always get frustrated burning through my paint layer when polishing.

This happens to me too. Looking good, i really like the front lip.
Now you have a big polishing project.
Good luck.

[KevHw]

Originally Posted by das_auto

A small tip for you Kev!

If you´re going to use Alclad to make the silver boards on the sides, be careful and try to remove the wax from those areas. If you apply Alclad (which is a lacquer) onto a waxed surface you run a very high risk of getting a phenomenon called "fisheyes" the paint will pool, almost like water on a waxed car. Removing the wax will also make the paint adhere better and minimize the risk of pulling up the paint when removing the masking.

Try to scrub the wax from the areas to be painted Alclad with an old t-shirt or similar rag and some dishwashing liquid and water. Hopefully that will help you from getting into trouble.

Cheers!

Emil

Thanks for that tip! I had the body all masked up and was about to start. Good thing I checked on here first . I'll be sure to try and rub the wax off more before I continue. I'm hoping Zero Gloss Black should be an ok barrier even if there is some residual wax.

A few quick updates:
Sorry for the poor lighting. Not used to taking pictures as I work.








Normally for PE parts I use superglue but this proved to be extremely difficult for the grill as the surface area of each blades' edge was tiny. Using shoe glue helped as it was thick enough to hold them up while setting. I'm sure superglue in gel form would work too.

[tuned.by.twenty]

Stunning colour, very eye-catching. The small spoiler was a good idea, I like it.

[alviga69]

Originally Posted by KevHw

Normally for PE parts I use superglue but this proved to be extremely difficult for the grill as the surface area of each blades' edge was tiny. Using shoe glue helped as it was thick enough to hold them up while setting. I'm sure superglue in gel form would work too.

I always have problems with this kind of photoetched
and the super glue causes me a lot of problems
but you used "shoe glue"
please could you take a photo?, maybe in Mexico i can find something similar
it will be very helpfull

Cheers

[KevHw]

Originally Posted by alviga69

I always have problems with this kind of photoetched
and the super glue causes me a lot of problems
but you used "shoe glue"
please could you take a photo?, maybe in Mexico i can find something similar
it will be very helpfull

Cheers

Hi alviga69,

The glue I use is this:




I drag a thin strip to the bottom edge of the blade



Then put it in place on the grooves on the grill. While it sets I have to support it, making sure it sets straight and perpendicular. Once it's dry the glue has a sufficiently strong enough bond but means I can only work with one blade at a time. Photo below only shows how it looks after the glue has dried.






A little update:

I've painted Alclad Chrome onto the side blades and rear vents but there is some very slight bleed from the masking tape . Hmmm....just as I am typing this I've run along the panel line a wooden toothpick which seems to have helped slightly. Not quite as shiny because I didn't wait long enough to make sure it had a very glossy black base, but good enough. If I could I'd have covered it with BMF instead but I don't have any. Alclad has not been cleared to preserve it's shine.












Front grill has also been chromed and work has begun on the engine bay and working out how to connect rods to the engine lid/hood. Bodywork is pretty much 98% complete. I just need to spray black the window surrounds and finish off and attach the grills.

Thanks again for the interest. Please do let me know what you think.

[das_auto]

That my friend looks excellent!!!

Remember that the silver sideboards on the real R8 are not chrome IRL. They are very polished aluminium. So your model (with the scale effect taken into account) looks spot on! Good Job! Dont worry about the bleed, you can use some compound and a Q-tip to rub it away very carefully, as Alclad is very thin I don`t think it will be much of a problem.

Good job on the PE aswell!


Cheers!

Emil

[MidMazar]

Looks sweet. Take care in assembling the chassis, a lot of test fitting is involved. Reminds me of their 360 modena kit which was aweful.

I really like the color you chose. Any chance on telling us what wheels your going to use? And what pe are you using?